Dangerous To Love
by Raine Yuy
Summary: A woman born into the world of violence and cold blood must seek refuge from mercenaries sent by drug lords. But she had never trusted anyone and knew that her reluctant bodyguard was as untrustworthy as any man could get. Rx1. Soon to be an epic.
1. Default Chapter

Dangerous To Love: Chapter One  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.  
  
Warning: Extreme violence and foul language.  
  
Just a little more. Accept the pain and it will become a part of the mind enough that it won't register physically. Just a little more. The pain in her right leg seemed to be throbbing more forcefully. She did not have to glance down to know that the blood was oozing out more frequently. Christ, the bastards just had to shoot her. She knew the bullet had gone through because she didn't feel it anywhere inside her wounded leg. If it hadn't gone through, she would have been in so much more pain. And this she knew from experience itself. The bastards.  
  
She was nearing the river. She could smell the water and hear the rush of it rolling and crashing against rocks. She was limping now, unable to do anything about the obvious tracks she left in her wake. She simply had no time to erase the evidence and soon they would be on her. Behind her she heard the callous tones of angry men and the constant snapping of branches. She knew why they were angry. The men did not take likely the demise of their fellow kinds. She had to get rid of them to make her escape. And she knew it was also necessary to use whatever she could as a weapon to distract the men enough to get them near her. Even the use of her body. God she felt dirty. The river. It was her only hope now. The water would make it hard for the men to trace her footsteps and wash away her distinctive odor. The men were used to tracking down their preys and they could smell her from miles away. She knew how it worked and she knew how to use it to her advantage.  
  
The current was not strong enough to carry her away and drown her but it was still a trial due to her injury. She slipped a few times but kept her balance. She would not allow herself to give in to exhaustion now. She had been through so much more. She would not allow them to take her down this way. The instinct to survive forced her until she finally reached the other side. The water had been cold enough to numb her senses. She crawled her way to solid ground and gasped for breath. No rest. No stalling. She had to move fast. Using her arms as leverage, she pulled herself up and started limping through the thick green forest once again. Survive. She had to survive. Her brother would never forgive her if she ended up in the arms of the enemy once again. But christ, how she wanted to drop and fold herself up into a ball of exhaustion. Instead, she swallowed the pain and kept limping to safety just beyond the forest where she could hear the engine and the blades of the helicopter. Safety. Hell, there was no such thing in her life.  
  
"Where the hell is she? She'd better show up or else i'm going to have to go after her." Zechs Merquise paced the ground before the helicopter and let out a few growling sounds of frustration. "Come on, hurry up dammit." He muttered the words to no one.  
  
"She'll be here." The asian man next to him assured simply while frowning at the dense forest in front of him. "She never fails."  
  
"I hope to god you're..."  
  
The tall blonde haired man sensed her before she limped her way into the clearing. Then he went running to her side as she stumbled and almost lost her balance. She looked like hell.  
  
"Shit, you look like hell soldier."  
  
"Nice to see you too brother. I'm glad you're happy that i'm alive and barely kicking."  
  
Wufei Chang ran forward and supported the other side of the wounded woman. "Come on, you too can be relieved later when we actually can get the hell out of this godforsaken place."   
  
They hoisted Relena up the helicopter where two strong arms received her.   
  
"Goddamn, what the hell kinda wild parties have you been hopping around to woman?"  
  
Duo Maxwell paled at the state the woman was in as he guided her inside and looked over her countless wounds.   
  
"Hello, Duo. Lots of wild parties. Lots of wild animals. You should have been there." she replied through gritted teeth as the pain finally made its way through the numbness that had held it at bay.  
  
"I wish i could have been," he bit back the sympathy that ran through him at her sorry sight. He knew she would not appreciate it. Tough. Too bloody tough. "You don't know how much i wish i could have been there."  
  
Duo took out a needle from his medical bag and gave the half unconcious woman the shot to numb her senses just as Wufei ordered the pilot to take off. Zechs leaned down to where the wounded woman was lying and frowned in concern.   
  
"How is she?"  
  
"She should be dead by now considering the loss of all that blood. Shit, how the hell did she manage to escape them through that forest with her wound without getting herself killed?"  
  
"This is Relena we're talking about. She would never let them take her down just like that."  
  
Duo shook his head in obvious disapproval. "So that's why you sent her alone to complete that bloody mission?"  
  
"We didn't need an army storming through the bastard's lair and risking an all out war." Zechs answered defiantly. He had been given no choice.   
  
"And so you sent a one woman army to do the dirty job. And i thought the world was bad enough as it was. It just keeps getting better."  
  
"You don't understand. She was born to do these kind of assignments. She's the best the world can offer."  
  
"It doesn't make it right."  
  
"No, but it keeps innocent people from getting hurt." A sacrifice. Zechs turned away from the sight of her limped body. A pawn to be sacrificed to beat the opponent and be the master of the game. He closed his eyes and fought back the urge to vomit. Just another fucking weapon to use against enemies. A killing machine. The finest.  
  
"So you risk Relena's own life. You've got thousands of people who could have done the job dammit!"  
  
Zechs sighed wearily and forced himself to look at her again. The he whispered in a flat voice, "She's the best Duo. She was trained for this since the beginning. The others would never have completed the job. They would have died before they even entered Mendoza's place."   
  
Her eyes were closed, their orbs hidden beneath protective lids and long thick eyelashes. But he knew what lay beneath them. Sapphire eyes frozen with death and destruction. Coated red with endless blood shed. Assassin eyes that mirrored only the dark depths of hell. He started at her sudden movement. Her hand was grasping for something that wasn't there and she was fighting the drug that Duo had given her.  
  
"Shit, she'd better stop that or she'll open her wound even wider." Duo muttered oaths under his breath as he tried to calm the frenzied woman.  
  
Zechs reached for his weapon and emptied the chamber. He placed the gun in Relena's searching hand until she quieted down. He watched as Duo's complexion paled at the realisation. She lived by the gun.   
  
The blonde man once more tore his gaze away from Duo's condemning eyes and closed his own. He would let Relena recuperate and then give her some time away from her job. A vacation in the Bahamas maybe. Or wherever she pleased. Even she had to rest and get away for just a while. And if she refused, he would have to coldcock her to get her away. She would be in a lot of heat for quite some time. Bringing down an infamous drug lord all by herself would cause an all-out search for her blood. And even Relena Dorlian could not go against the world of mercenaries all by herself. He knew that the only way to keep her out of an assassin's rifle view would be to hide her. And to have her be guarded by a man more deadly than the sentries of snipers who would be on their way to her soon. A man who would be able to handle Relena as well. Zechs prayed to the demons and the gods that the man he had in mind would cooperate. He would be the only one qualified enough to do the job. He dialed the number and waited as the phone rang.  
  
"Yes?"   
  
Impatient and gruff.   
  
"Heero Yuy...this is Zechs Merquise. I have a job offer for you."  
  
to be continued... 


	2. the torment he saw in her eyes

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and Heero Yuy is not my property.  
  
He had heard about her. Hell, who didn't know who Relena Dorlian was? The woman was a born legend. But he had already made up his mind. Nothing on earth could sway his decision not to get involved with protecting a woman who probably had a better chance of protecting herself. He had quit the game just a while ago. He had paid off debts with the illegal money he had acquired from his last project. The unfortunate victims of the thievery were aspiring criminals obsessed with climbing the ladders to bigger activities. The drug bust had gone awry and Heero had benefited from their mistakes. But now he was a free man. He no longer had to hide himself in shadows for fear of getting shot in the back because he had targeted somebody's criminally insane family member. He was done and he had no desire to go back in and play with guns and destructive weapons all over again. He had always looked out for number one and nothing could ever change the only rule he set for himself. Let the woman take care of her own demons.  
  
Heero Yuy pointedly ignored the thick folder lying on his desk and continued to sip his cold coffee. He didn't have to read the contents because he wasn't going to take the assignment. His glance went back and forth between the view outside his window and the table until he muttered an expletive under his breath in self-annoyance as he reached for the folder.  
  
Relena Dorlian. Age 23. Dark blonde hair. Height 5'2. Weight 100 pounds. Single and never married. Zechs Merquise the only surviving family member. Father, mother, and two other siblings deceased. Trained in guerrilla warfare at the age of 9.  
  
Simple facts. Impersonal and cold. He already knew most of the information. He turned the page and forgot how to breathe. My god, what an incredible face. Not traditionally beautiful but stunning in its own. The shot of her profile had been spontaneous and unplanned, catching her in an unguarded moment. Her dark blonde hair flowed around her flawless skin, her gaze unfocused and glassy as she stared out at nothing. He studied her sapphire eyes and felt his heart contract. Haunted and filled with suppressed torment. Assassin eyes that dripped with desolation and wariness. Jesus, he could almost feel the agony of every breath she took. Unconsciously, he touched one fingertip to the side of her mouth. Beautiful mouth. Hardened, lined with cynicism and curved by bitterness.  
  
He threw the folder down as if it burned his hands to touch it. He didn't need this kind of complication. He finally got what he wanted more than anything else in his life. Freedom. No more running from a sniper's well- aimed bullet and no more trading his soul for his life. The woman knew exactly how to take care of herself and knew the rules of survival. Hell, she probably knew it better than even him. Zechs didn't need him to take care of his soldier. His soldier was more dangerous than ten of Mendoza's mercenaries.  
  
Sapphire eyes that had been through hell and back. Mouth that was never allowed to be touched by tenderness or warmth. Yeah well, that's life. Heero turned to look out the window and forced himself not to think about anything but the way the leaves fell from its branches. Leaves that laid on the ground and waited to be stepped on. Leaves that had been detached from its source of life and left to be swept away by the wind. He was content to be on his own and to live his life free of weapons and destructions. Relena Dorlian came equipped with all those things he desperately wanted to leave behind in the past. She was an expert on surviving. She didn't need him to protect her. He had to look out for himself alone because it was the only way he knew hot to live. Forget tormented eyes and soft wispy blonde hair. Forget the mouth that he was certain had never tasted anything but blood. Forget it.  
  
He glanced back at the photographs that had scattered around his desk and closed his eyes in anger. Shit. He definitely didn't need this right now.  
  
Blood spurted like a fountain from freshly opened flesh, staining her cheeks. Crimson red was everywhere and she couldn't fathom how so much of the liquid colour could come from the bodies. The smell overwhelmed her senses and made her dizzy. Two small hands came up to wipe away the stains of blood from baby soft cheeks. She looked down at small bare feet drowning in the red flood. Somebody was screaming for her to run and her little body was shaking.shaking.  
  
A solid hand touched her own and brought her back to the present. She tightened her grip on her gun instinctively before she slit her eyes open. Duo Maxwell sat beside her small bed, checking over her wounds and bandages. He stopped in the process of checking on her pulse when he sensed her movement.  
  
"Finally." He reached for a glass of water and handed it to her. She sat up and accepted it without a word then handed the glass back after she was done.  
  
"How long have I been out?"  
  
"Almost two days now. Your body needed catching up to all the bruising it received. And you probably haven't slept for days." He studied her face. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like shit." She replied sarcastically. "Where the hell are we?"  
  
"An isolated farm somewhere in Montana. Trowa Barton, one of Zechs' men, arranged for this place to be your haven for now. Until."he stopped when she swept aside the sheet covering her and swung her legs on the floor. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"  
  
Relena ignored him and walked up to the window. She opened the curtain a crack and peered out at the vast empty space surrounding the house.  
  
"What the hell is this? He never told me anything about hiding out."  
  
Duo knew she could be dangerous when pushed in a corner and that was why he had argued with Zechs and Wufei against the idea of placing her in a safe house. She still looked battered and weary but she was far from fragile. Her eyes had turned deadly. She would be able to take him down in two seconds flat.  
  
"You need time to heal and to get out from all the heat."  
  
She wasn't satisfied with his answer.  
  
"He didn't have to dump me in the middle of nowhere and without telling me."  
  
Duo joined her at the window and stared out. "They made sure they had enough people scouting the area so that we would be safe."  
  
She frowned. She knew that Barton had chosen the place because no one would be able to get near the cabin without her spotting them from miles away. But it could work both ways. They couldn't get out of the cabin without making themselves target from the hills around them.  
  
Duo noticed her frown. "The men are all situated and are camping out among the hills."  
  
"What do we have in the house?"  
  
"Guns and two cell phones."  
  
"Did Zechs tell you anything about these men? CIA? FBI?"  
  
"No. He just said they were all qualified to do the job." Duo felt the first few caresses of anxiety. Relena would know if there was anything to be worried about and right now, she was frowning.  
  
"I can't believe he would be that stupid. He should know by now that Mendoza would pull out all the stops to get to me. That includes tapping all his powerful resources from all over the goddamn world. And men can be bought."  
  
She stiffened at the sound of a vehicle approaching. Drawing the curtains apart, she watched with tension as a dark car ploughed forward with purpose, guns visible where the men hung their arms out of the windows. Without moving an inch from the window, she whispered to a silent Duo, "Get the guns and meet me at the back door. I assume Barton left us a car?"  
  
"Yeah, it's at the back."  
  
"Then get to the car and wait for me there."  
  
Duo hesitated, calculating the wounds that had yet to heal. She couldn't possibly be up for any more actions anytime soon.  
  
She spared him a glare and whispered in a voice of steel, "Get going Maxwell." He turned and ran to gather what he could.  
  
Relena calculated the distance between the fast moving vehicle headed toward the cabin and the amount of time it would take to do what she had to. Scanning the room, she spied the three glass bottles she remembered seeing when she woke up. She ripped materials from the curtains, picked up the bottles and headed for the kitchen. She found the gas fluid under the sink and filled the bottles. She stuffed the mouth of the bottles with the cloth she had torn from the curtain. Then she poured the rest of the gas fluid around the kitchen. Satisfied, she limped to the back door just as she heard the vehicle approaching the main front of the cabin. She left the door open and hopped into the passenger side of the jeep where Duo was waiting. She handed him one of the bottles.  
  
"Let's go. Head for the woods."  
  
Then there were gunshots as the men riddled the cabin with firepower from their weapons. Relena smirked. Stupid fools.  
  
"Jesus. What the hell is going on?" Duo uttered as he started the engine and backed the car away from the house. "I thought they were here to protect us?"  
  
"Men all have their prices Duo." Relena stated simply and when she decided that the distance was good enough, she let the bottles hurtle toward the house and commanded Duo to do the same. She watched with satisfaction as the bottles landed and swiftly set the wooden cabin on fire within an instant. Then they headed for the woods with Relena calculating just how many more men they had to encounter. Barton and Zechs must have hired more than a few. She took the gun from the back of her jeans and checked the chamber. Seeing it was full, she released her breath and closed her eyes to will the pain away. She had work to do. 


	3. the first encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone.  
  
Note: I'm taking full advantage of my days off to write a few more chapters. Well, as the public demands, a Heero/Relena moment. Finally! Well, have fun little ones.  
  
"How long are we going to be here Relena?" Duo persisted as he fought the hunger that made his stomach feel hollow.  
  
Relena spared him a sidelong glance before she answered, "As long as it takes Duo. We're safer here than out in the open."  
  
She had lost track of how far deep they were in the woods long ago. She hadn't had the chance to explore it and prepare herself before the attack. But she had to allow that they were fortunate enough even with the situation. In her younger years, she had been through ten times worse scenarios. But her right leg was throbbing so bad she could barely hide the limp from Duo. She knew he would make them stop and then they would waste time arguing instead of forging ahead. She wanted to rest. Jesus, how she badly wanted to just lay her body down and not move for years. Instead, she swallowed her weakness and forced one determined step after another.  
  
Branches snap from up ahead and she reacted in automatic mechanism. She grabbed Duo and threw both of them down behind a thicket of brush. She slipped the gun out and readied her sight for the target. The sound made by footsteps was getting louder. Closer. If the enemy wanted to surprise them, he was not doing a very good job. Any amateur would have heard him coming. Relena released the safety and waited patiently for her prey. Cool, calm and deadly. She was in her element now. The hunter instead of the hunted. She was taught the game in her early years. With the repeated mantra of, "search and destroy" whispering in her ear, she had been sent into the middle of the game to clear the way. Her job then was to hunt down the snipers and kill them before her team could proceed. Relena forced the memory down and concentrated on the present kill.  
  
It was too easy. It was as if the target intended to be spotted and shot. She frowned in confusion. She spotted the black army boots first. Then followed tan slacks that were meant to blend with the surrounding so as to appear less visible. She tensed as she waited for the man's whole profile to come into view. Her gun raised, her trigger finger flexing, she released her breath and aimed.  
  
Prussian eyes as deep as the midnight sky stared directly into hers. Startled, she froze and forgot her training. There was something about him. He stood before her with no weapons. His eyes communicated with her in a level that made her heart flutter. How did he know where she was? She made sure that nobody would be able to spot her and Duo. And what was he doing trailing after them if he wasn't there to get rid of them? Her wariness returned full forced and she aimed again. But then she heard his voice.  
  
"Relena Dorlian."  
  
Deep. Rough. Masculine. The sound of her name whispered by that voice sent shivers down her spine.  
  
"Brilliant. You know my name." She laced her voice with sarcasm and a hint of warning.  
  
Silent laughter rumbled from him and she frowned. Then Duo moved from where he crouched beside her with his own weapon drawn. He studied the stranger then his face split into a grin.  
  
"Well hell, if it ain't Heero Yuy in the flesh!"  
  
And before Relena could do anything about it, he stood and made his way to the stranger. She cursed his careless hide and stood with him, her weapon locked on its target for safety measures.  
  
The blue-eyed man grinned back at the amused Duo. "Maxwell," he greeted Duo before his gaze rested on her. "You might want to tell her that I'm no threat before she decides for herself and shoot me dead. I heard she shoots first before she ask questions."  
  
Duo glanced back at Relena then said in a careful tone, "Relena, this is Heero Yuy. He's not one of Mendoza's recruit."  
  
"And how would you know that? I told you Duo, men can be bought." How long could she keep up the pretence? Her right leg was on the verge of failing her. She refused to leave her safety in the hands of a total stranger.  
  
"If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing here right now pointing that gun at me."  
  
It was so simply stated that she almost believed him. But wariness was too ingrained into her brain that she only shook her head in denial.  
  
"Maybe Mendoza wants me alive and you're here to bring me in."  
  
"You're reaching. He probably does want you alive but any fool would know better than to stand before you with no protection. If I wanted you brought in alive, I would still be forced to hurt you to get you to cooperate. But you're unharmed Relena. And so am I."  
  
Which meant that even from the beginning, her intuition knew that he was not enemy. It left her baffled for a second, the fact that her instinct deemed anyone safe enough for her to hesitate pulling the trigger. Was she losing her edge? She hoped to hell that wasn't the case because she needed her edge now more than ever to stay ahead of Mendoza. And she also needed her ingrained mistrustful nature to guard the blue-eyed stranger who claimed to be on their side.  
  
He was studying her now, waiting for her to come to her own conclusions, his eyes drilling holes into her soul. Slowly, she removed her finger from the trigger and lowered the gun to her side. She watched as he relaxed his rigid stance and blinked in relief.  
  
"There's a small clearing just a few minutes from here where a chopper is due to meet us. Mendoza's men aren't far behind. We'd better get moving."  
  
"How did you know where to find us?" Relena questioned before following his lead.  
  
"We saw the smoke coming from the cabin and figured you must have ran. There's no other place to go for safety but into the woods."  
  
"There are others aren't there? I thought they were suppose to be surrounding the place. Why haven't Duo an I encounter any of them?"  
  
Heero met her gaze and indifferently stated, "I took care of it."  
  
Before she could question him again, she heard the noise of the chopper as it descended into the clearing they had reached. A few more steps. She stumbled as her right leg buckled underneath her weight. She hurtled forward and was a few inches from meeting the grassy earth when a pair of masculine arms caught her fall. She muttered an oath and clung. Then she was swept into those same arms and carried into the chopper. She wanted to protest. She wanted to stand on her own two feet and climb into the helicopter on her own. But too late, she was sitting on his lap and her exhausted mind couldn't even find itself back from the shadows that enticed her to sleep. And for the first time in Relena's dangerous existence, she let herself go and closed her eyes as two arms held her in its warmth. Just for a few minutes, she thought to herself. A few minutes to let herself believe in safety because he held her. A stranger that could easily be an enemy hiding behind Prussian depths. She would abandon everything for just a few minutes. Then her whole body went slack and she let out a hidden sigh.  
  
Heero Yuy watched as the woman closed her eyes and rested her blonde head on his shoulder. He felt her breath released into a weary sigh near his ear. He studied the dark spot on the right leg of her jeans. Her leg was bleeding and he knew that she was probably bruised from head to toe. But she had managed to outwit the bastards who had betrayed Zechs and Barton for money. He had been beyond surprise when he had his first glimpse of her. She was a legend as an agent. A woman who knew more about weapons and war than any soldier. A woman whose appearance reminded him of a fragile and gentle princess. It was hard to believe that such a small body was able to handle impossible tasks. How was she able to take bullets and wounds without losing her life? To say she amazed him was an understatement. The woman astounded him.  
  
Duo studied Heero without uttering a word, amused by his bewildered expression as he continued to study the woman sleeping in his arms. He understood the amazement and curiosity more than anyone. Relena Dorlian was a woman that could take any man's breath away and leave him floundering for breath. Wasn't he still floundering for that breath he had lost so long ago? And about three other men he knew were still in the same state. And Duo Maxwell deemed those men and himself included, fools. For in certain moments, he pretended that Relena Dorlian was just like any other woman and not a warrior. And in certain moments, he purposely believed that Relena Dorlian was capable of human emotions. But then reality would set in like Godzilla and show him that in truth, Relena Dorlian loved no one.  
  
He turned away from the sight of Heero and Relena and gave himself up to the demands of his exhausted body. He closed his eyes and dreamed of silence and safety.  
  
TBC. 


End file.
